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Krissa Jackson

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 2

5 March 2021

The Case of Youth and Stories: Why You Should Raise Your Kids on Fairy Tales

Throughout childhood, a fairy tale’s fanciful plots pose a comfort for young children.

Although some argue in opposition to children's media containing the themes and lessons some

fairy tales possess, introducing children to the fairy tale genre will bring more benefits than

negatives. Fairy tales should be an integral part of a child’s early curriculum because they

provide important messages, outlets and aid in healthy development.

Many have explored the idea of fairy tales being used as tools to aid children in their

development through different strategies and literary devices. Among these strategies is their

lack of polarization. They are written in a straightforward, black in white view of morality and

characters. People are categorized into labels of good and evil, hero or foe. This non ambivalent

approach simplifies these topics for children and prepares them to understand more complex

views of morality and human nature. Furthermore, children can use chimerical stories to aid in

their emotional and cognitive growth, as they nurture and prime their brain for empathy and

comprehension. To captivate children's attention, and encourage them into reading, fairy tales

use entertaining elements to push development. They play an integral part in the early

developmental stage, as it tests children's ability to process information and differentiate reality

from fiction. As such an important part of a child's progress in maturing, it would only be foolish

to disregard this tool.

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On the contrary, an argument can be made about the harmful influence some lessons

provide. Written to appeal to children and common folk, fairy tales weave outdated messages of

beauty standards and typecasting to push Anti-Semitism. It’s not uncommon in these tales for the

villains to be painted as ugly, or even in possession of ethnic or unconventional features. Not

only does this harm children's perception of themselves and their self-esteem, but is also used to

push prejudice, as seen in the various villains with stereotypical Jewish features -such as the

nefarious “Mother Gothel” in “Tangled” or in Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters. Furthermore, it

was seen during World War II that fairytales were used as subtle indoctrination to anti-Judaism

in schools and homes alike. As seen in “The Good Bargain” or in “Red Riding Hood”, which the

Nazis used as propaganda. While this is a fair point presented and should be addressed, more

modern adaptations have done wonders to criticize these aspects and rewrite them to be

progressive representations of minorities. In the case of “Cinderella”, “The Rough Faced Girl”

retells the story as both a powerful message of inner beauty and a positive depiction of

Indigenous people. Representation is an important factor to consider in what we introduce our

children to, which in the past has been less than positive, but we’ve started to see well

intentioned authors take it upon themselves to correct this injustice.

Some people contend that these dark and grotesque stories are not appropriate for

children. They argue the stories should censored and watered down to cheerful tales. Despite

some of these stories compromising of jarring subjects, there is a question about whether fairy

tales can be used as productive tools to condition children for the harsh realities of the world.

Stories like “Red Riding Hood” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” teach children to be

weary of strangers, through the malicious actions of its villains and the naïve protagonists.

Making these stories more “children friendly” or taking away the dark aspects of the stories
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make the lesson not as life altering. Therefore, fairy tales can be made not only appropriate, but

also for teaching children.

Fairy tales, although often thought of as inane stories for kids, can be used to address

more serious topics within a child's life and offer them an outlet for expression on these issues.

Children with little control over their problem due to their struggle are given the opportunity to

fully explore their emotions in a safe and consequent free environment. Studies, such as “Fairy

Tales: Visions for Problem Resolution in Eating Disorders” conducted by Laura Hill, have tried

to use fairytales as tools for children victimized by bullying, abuse, or even mental illness. The

study was done to show that, “fairy tales offer possible solutions for young people struggling

with transitional problems and anxieties by allowing the disordered client to project his or her

desired identity onto the fairy tale and draw self-control from the process” (Hill 584). They

found that through identification with a character, “...the child can learn to cope with threats,

conflicts and their anxieties linked to the illness, and this has a positive impact on their quality of

life” (Adamo 268, 270). By connecting with the characters, the child is associating their issues

and real life “villains” with the story, allowing them an outlet for their more complex feelings.

To put it more simply, they can pose a therapeutic source for some children. As seen

through the struggle between good and evil, where good always comes out the victor. Within the

make-believe world a child can find solace in the black in white narrative. An easily identifiable

story, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, a victim of abuse or bullying can see themselves in

Snow White. The child can feel a sense of comfort or victory as the stepmother, or their abuser,

loses in favor of the innocent Snow White. In the case of a sick child, “...the stepmother might

reflect their illness or perhaps the face of a particular doctor, nurse or even their parents who

“torment” the children’s bodies by putting them through painful treatments” (Source). These
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tales give the child an outlet to express their frustrations towards their illness, parents, and/or

medical staff, in a secure and healthy way. While each child will connect to the stories in their

own way, fairy tales propose a new safe and productive way for a child’s expression.

In conclusion, fairy tales influence children’s early development by providing important

messages and outlets. Through identification, the child can learn how to properly deal with their

complex emotions and situations. It’s important that we continue to introduce children to fairy

tales early on in childhood as the stories aid children in growing up.

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Work Cited

Greenspan, Jesse. “The Dark Side of the Grimm Fairy Tales.” HISTORY, 23 Aug. 2018

Wilson, Sharon Rose. Margaret Atwood’s Fairy-Tale Sexual Politics. First Edition, ECW Press,

1993.

Xiaoyi, Li. “How Fairy Tales Educate and Civilize Us: Ethical Literary Criticism on Fairy

Tales.” Interlitteraria, vol. 22, no. 2, 2018. Crossref

Adamo, Simonetta M. G.Serpieri, Serenella AdamoDe Falco, RaffaellaDi Cicco, TeresaFoggia,

RaffaellaGiacometti, PatriziaSiani, Gerarda. “Tom Thumb in Hospital: The Fairy Tale

Workshop in a Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Ward.” Psychodynamic Practice

14.3 (2008): 263-280. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 22 July

2015.